1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the installation of tubeless tires onto a rim and more particularly to an apparatus for effectively and quickly seating the sealing bead of larger sized tubeless tires.
2. Description of Related Art
Tubeless tires for automotive use have been used exclusively for perhaps several decades. With the advent of new rim design and mating sealing beads of tubeless tires, the need for preventing air leaks from the interior of the tire by the use of an inner tube has long since gone by the wayside. However, once the tubeless tire has been manipulated onto the rim of the wheel assembly, depending upon the overall rim width and overall size and stiffness of the tire, the minimal sealing of both beads in order to begin the process of air pressurization to fully seat the beads on the rim can be difficult.
With respect to more conventionally sized automotive tires, a number of prior art apparatus and devices are known to applicant to aid in this process. U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,547 to Van De Sype discloses a method and apparatus for inflating tubeless tires on a vehicle wheel with adjustable rim-engaging saddles. An inflation apparatus which is expandable radially to accommodate different sizes of tires is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,456 to Bonko, et al.
Corless has invented methods and apparatus for inflating tubeless tires in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,552,469, 3,677,320, 3,805,871 and 4,263,958. The '320 patent teaches providing air simultaneously into the tire from the bead seating apparatus and through the conventional tire valve.
An adjustable bead seater for inflating tubeless tires is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,163 to Charles, et al. The apparatus comprises tire bead setting apparatus which includes a pair of oppositely disposed adjustable tubular segments. A newly-issued patent to Gonzaga describes a rapid inflation device for tubeless tires in U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,518.
Other patents of lesser interest are listed herebelow:                U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,654 to Duquesne        U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,975 to Strang, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk        U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,801 to Ellis        U.S. Pat. No. 6,405,780 to Biruk        U.S. Pat. No. 7,044,188 to Pellerin, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,402 to Cunningham, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,982 to Doan        U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,733 to Desparois, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,892 to Koerner, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,176,288 to Kane, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,269 to Skoff, et al.        U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,982 to Miller        
Use of these tubeless designed tires and rims have also expanded into virtually all larger size tires including those of larger rim diameter and width in the range of up to 20″ in rim width and tire diameters which can extend well above 30″. The tubeless tires associated with these larger rims are extremely heavy and difficult to manipulate after they have been wrestled onto the rim in loosely fitting fashion. Typically one of the two beads will easily seat itself sufficiently against the corresponding rim seal while the other tire bead will remain displaced from the opposite side of rim seal. To establish a seal sufficient to trap air being introduced into the valve stem of the rim which will thereafter begin the inflation process, some means must be exerted on the tire to partially or temporarily seal the other bead. Again, because larger tires are substantially heavier and stiffer and, when being installed on wider rims, pose a particular challenge which none of the above recited prior art seem to have an answer to this initial sealing problem.
Other more radical means for manipulating the sidewall of the large tire into bead sealing engagement with the rim seats have been relied upon to establish this initial tire bead seal on both sides of the tire. An extreme example is in the form of directing a quantity of ether into the interior of the tire and then igniting that gas causing a mild explosion sufficient to drive the second tire wall and bead into initial sealing engagement with the rim seal.
The present invention provides an apparatus which (in prototype form substantially as shown herebelow) easily and quickly seats virtually any sized tubeless tire onto any corresponding rim, regardless of rim width or diameter. Once this apparatus easily establishes initial sealing contact between the rim seal and both beads of the tire, final inflation and full bead seating are quickly established thereafter.
Moreover, the present invention in preferably in the form of an apparatus which is portable and may be deployed on site where the need for heavy truck tire service would be most useful. Other available equipment which is intended but falls short of this process capability is typically far too large to be remotely deployed and therefore the tires to be repaired or replaced must be hauled along with the rim to the work warehouse or garage.